Brahma Samhita

Cover of Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī's translation of the Brahma Saṁhitā (1st edition, 1932).

The Brahma Samhita (IAST: Brahma-saṁhitā) is a Sanskrit Pancharatra text, composed of verses of prayer believed to have been spoken by Brahma glorifying Krishna.

It is revered within Gaudiya Vaishnavism, whose 16th-century founder, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534), rediscovered a part of the work, the 62 verses of chapter five, which had previously been lost for a few centuries, at the Adikesava Perumal Temple, Kanyakumari, in South India.[1] Mitsunori Matsubara, in his Pañcarātra Saṁhitās and Early Vaisṇava Theology dates the text at c.1300 CE. The text contains a highly esoteric description of Krishna in his abode, Goloka.

In 1970, George Harrison produced a modern recording of these prayers performed by devotees of the Radha Krishna Temple in London. Titled "Govinda", the song took its title from the main chorus line of the prayer "govindam ādi-puruṣam tam ahaṁ bhajāmi", meaning "I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord". This prayer was sung by Yamunā Devi, a disciple of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Madhvacharya of Brahma Sampradaya in his Brahmasutra commentary has quoted the Brahma Samhita multiple times.

  1. ^ A history of the Brahma Saṁhitā, Feb 17, 2012, (Indiadivine.org)